Tobacco feeding device



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 10, 1954 FIG.

INVENTOR GEORGE ZINT,

ATTORNEYS A ril 26, 1955 2m 2,706,989

TOBACCO FEEDING DEVICE Filed March 10, 1954' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR GEORGE ZINT,

ATTORNEYS 2,706,989 P Patented Apr. 26, 1955 erence to the patent may be had for the other structure illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

The tobacco feeding device comprises a flat casing 10 2,706,989 in the intermediate portion of which is a transversely 5 extending measuring chamber 13 open at its top and bot- TOBACCO FEEDING DEVICE tom. A longitudinally slidable plunger 14 is mounted in the bottom portion of the casing to reciprocate across George Wapakoneta the chamber and forms a retractable bottom for it. Application Mal-ch 10, 1954, serial 1 7 A flat knife blade or cutter 29 is mounted to slide longi- 10 tudinally in the casing and its cutting edge reciprocates 4 Claims. (Cl. 131-81) across the open top of the chamber 13. If desired it may coact with a stationary cutter blade 34 extending transversely of the casing along the front edge of the top of chamber 13. On the intermediate portion of the cas- This invention relates to tobacco feeding devices for mg above the knife blade 29 and the chamber 13 is an hand-actuated cigarette rolling machines, and more paropen top tobacco feeding hopper 12. If desired the latter ticularly to improvements in the device of my Patent No. may communicate with a supply hopper 11 rising from 2,642,878 granted June 23, 1953. the rear portion of the casing. The hopper 12 includes In the device of that patent sufiicient tobacco for an upright wall which surrounds or substantially surone cigarette was fed by hand into an open top measurrounds the measuring Chamber If desirei the PP ing pocket or chamber from a feeding hopper above it wall may be a U-shaped member with a portion 43 exand the bottom of the measuring chamber was formed tending across the casing near the front of the chamber by the top of a reciprocating plunger. A reciprocating 13, and two rearwardly extending arms 44 which are knife blade wa movable across the top of the measurpivotally clamped against the outer faces of the side walls ing chamber to cut the tobacco therein from the mass of 22 0f the casing 10 by hoits and nuts or Other fasteners tobacco above the knife in the feeding hopper. When 5- It ill be n h h Wall Of the feeding PP that was done the plunger was retracted to permit the confines the tobacco on the knife blade 29, and that when measured quantity of tobacco to drop into the lower part the latter is retracted to uncover the measuring chamber of the casing in advance of the plunger so that the latter l3, tobacco may drop into the chamber and may be could be operated to push the tobacco into the cigarette P s by t fi g s int th la t r Since th top of the roller. At times, and especially with some tobacco, hopper is open. The chamber is of course filled while when the plunger was retracted the tobacco did not drop the plunger 14 closes its lower end, and the knife blade freely from the measuring chamber, or all of it did not is then pushed forwardly to the position shown in Fig. drop, and hence the cigarette was not filled out. If, in 2 to sever the measured portion of the tobacco in the order to facilitate the dropping of the measured quantity, chamber from the mass in the hopper above the knife the knife blade was retracted while the plunger remained laderetracted, some of the tobacco in the feeding hopper In order to clear the tobacco off of the forward porabove the measuring chamber was permitted, by the tion of the knife blade when it is over the chamber 13,

withdrawal of the knife, to drop into the measuring I provide an upright and longitudinally movable pusher chamber, with the result that too much tobacco was fed 40 element 60 in the feedlng hopper. The pusher 60 into the cigaretter roller. That objection may be overcludes an upright member or plate Wl'llCl'] is disposed adcome by pushing the tobacco off of that portion of the l' the Wall as Seen in Figs 1 and 2, While the knife blade over the measuring chamber before the blade chamber 13 is being filled and Which 1s then slid rear- 1s retracted so that when it 1s retracted no additional w r ly r the t p f th k f lad untll It has passed tobacco will be added to the measured quantity, 45 beyond the rear wall of the chamber 13, as seen in Fig. The main object of this invention is to provide a simple The Pusher Plate 60 is Preferably at one end of a slide and effective means for clearing the surplus tobacco 61 which moves under the wall 43 and has at its other from the top of the forward portion of the knife blade end a combined finger piece and stop member 62 It may so that when it IS retracted no additional tobacco Will e ormed from a rectangular plece of sheet metal as fall into the measuring chamber. 0 shown in Fig. 4. The body portion of the slide 61 has Another object of the invention is to provide a knife a length slightly less than the distance between the blade clearing means which may be applied as an attacharms n t Pa 6 a 62 a pwardly ent ment to the feeding device of said patent without alterflanges along its rear and front edges. The flange 62 has ing the construction of the device. its ends 63 extending beyond the edges of the body of With the above objects and advantages in view, the the slide and the latter is formed with a large rectangular invention resides in the novel combinations and arrangeopening 64 to permit access to the chamber 13 when the ments of parts and the novel features of construction pusher has been moved to the position shown in Fig. 3 hereinafter described and claimed, and illustrated in the in which it has pushed the tobacco on the knife blade to accompanying drawings which show the present preferred a position rearward of the pocket 13. In that position embodiment of the invention. of the parts the knife blade may be retracted without In the drawings: additional tobacco entering the pocket, and when the Fig. l is a top plan view of the improved tobacco feedplunger is retracted beyond the rear wall of the pocket, ing device; the tobacco may be pushed by the fingers into the lower Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through part of the casing in advance of the plunger if all of the the device operatively positioned with respect to a known 5 tobacco does not fall out of the P type of cigarette rolling machine; It will be noted that in the device of the patent, the

1g. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, with parts in side feeding chamber includ s an png t all 43 extending elevation and parts in section, but showing a different In the dlrecuon of the length of the measuring champosition of the knife blade clearing device or attachment; r and t one Side Of the Same, and that Such Wall is a and l part of a pivotally mounted member. The pusher at- Fig. 4 1s a perspective view of the attachment. tachment may therefore be readily applied by tilting the The present invention is an addition to the tobacco Plate Slide 61 to an upright Position, inserting the feeding device of Patent No. 2,642,878, referred to above, p h l n r flange 60 under thatwall, n h n and while it may be a permanent or non-removable part turning the plate to the generally horizontal position of the feeding device, it is preferably made as a removshown in g While the Preferred form of the Pusher able part or attachment that may be easily applied withhas been disclosed, it is obvious that it may be otherwise out changing the construction of the device of the patent. siidahiy mounted- It is shown removed in Fig. 4, while in the other views it From the f r g ng, taken in nn i n with he acis applied to a tobacco feeding device of the construction companying drawings, it will be seen that novel and shown in the patent. I will briefly describe the features advantageous provision has been made for carrying out of that device essential to the present invention and refthe objects of the invention, and while preferences have been disclosed, attention is invited to the possibility of making variations within the scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. The combination with a tobacco feeding device of the character set forth having a casing with an elongated measuring chamber open at its top and bottom, a plunger reciprocable across the bottom of the chamber, a knife blade reciprocable across the top of the chamber, and an open top tobacco feeding hopper above the knife blade, said hopper including an upright wall extending in the direction of said chamber and disposed to one side of the same, of an upright tobacco pusher plate disposed in said hopper and slidable therein to clear the tobacco from the portion of the knife blade above said measuring chamber, said upright pusher plate extending in the direction of said upright wall and disposed above said knife blade for movement toward and from said wall and transversely over said chamber, and a finger piece disposed on the exterior of said hopper and fixedly connected to said pusher plate to be manually moved to actuate the latter.

2. The combination with a tobacco feeding device of the character set forth having a casing with an elongated measuring chamber open at its top and bottom, a plunger reciprocable across the bottom of the chamber, a knife blade reciprocable across the top of the chamber, and an open top tobacco feeding hopper above the knife blade, said hopper including an upright wall extending in the direction of said chamber and disposed to one side of the same, of a slide movable under said upright wall of the feeding hopper, said slide having an upright pusher plate at the inner end thereof, and said pusher plate being disposed in said hopper above said knife blade and being moved by the manual actuation of said slide to clear the tobacco from the portion of the knife blade above said measuring chamber.

3. The combination with a tobacco feeding device of the character set forth having a casing with an elongated measuring chamber open at its top and bottom, a plunger reciprocable across the bottom ofv the chamber, a knife blade reciprocable across the top of the chamber, and an open top tobacco feeding hopper above the knife blade, said hopper including an upright wall extending in the direction of said chamber and disposed to one side of the same, of a substantially rectangular plate slidable under said wall, an upright tobacco pusher flange on the inner end of said plate, said pusher flange being disposed above said knife blade and movable from a point adjacent said wall on one side of said chamber transversely across the latter, and a second flange on the projecting outer end of said plate to serve as a finger piece and a stop to limit the sliding movement of said plate in one direction, said plate having an opening to expose the top of said measuring chamber when said pusher flange has been moved to clear the tobacco from the portion of the knife blade over said chamber.

4. As an article of manufacture, a pusher attachment for use with a tobacco feeding device of the character set forth having a casing with an elongated measuring chamber open at its top and bottom, a plunger reciprocable across the bottom of the chamber, a knife blade reciprocable across the top of the chamber and an open top tobacco feeding hopper above the knife blade, the hopper including an upright Wall extending in the direction of said chamber and disposed to one side of the same, said attachment comprising a substantially rectangular plate with an upstanding pusher flange extending across one of its edges and a combined finger piece and stop flange at its opposite edge, the intermediate portion of said plate having a rectangular opening, and the pusher flange being insertable under the upright wall to dispose the plate for sliding movement above the knife blade.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

